Fire Hazard

[Frenchy]

I don't know how common this is, but I had a scary experience a while ago that might alert others. I opened the companionway at
my mooring one day to encounter a strong petroleum-type smell that I couldn't identify right off. Then I recognized it as the lamp
alcohol I stored in a cockpit locker.
When I dug out the white plastic bottle at the bottom, I saw it had a hole worn in the bottom. The plastic looked brittle. It had
been at the bottom of the locker for several years and I never thought much about it.
Anway, about a quart had leaked into the engine compartment. Thankfully, the odor alerted me. If I had started the engine,
sparks might have ignited the fumes and made for an exciting day.
Now, I store the alcohol in a small gasoline jug with thicker and better plastic

[Carl Thunberg]

Jean - thanks for sharing tis experience. Thankfully, no actual harm done. Fire is the one thing that scares the crap out of me. Check those fire extinguishers everyone!

[Paul D.]

Yes, good to revisit the stowage of any flammables aboard as a fire on a boat is a serious thing! I try to stow anything extra flammable in my propane locker, (We row our dinghy so no gas outboard here) mostly a butane refill can and sometimes charcoal starter but we moved to solid fire starter for that and have been happy. I do have lamp oil for the saloon lamp however, stowed under the sink, but this is within a plastic ice cream bucket with other things like Lemon oil for the interior and some cleaning products. That way a leak of any of those has a second backup.